On Friday (10/11/2017) I found the dark brown erinea of the Eriophyid mite (Aceria ilicis) in profusion on the underside of leaves of an Evergreen Oak (Quercus ilex) in Calderstones Park, Liverpool, Merseyside. Only one tree had the infestation and none of the other Evergreen Oaks checked showed any signs whatsoever.

Mites were visible in their thousands on each leaf under the stereo microscope (approx 45x).

It would appear that NOW is the time to check Evergreen Oaks (Quercus ilex) in Cheshire to see if the mite is present across the County (there is certainly one worth checking by the pond at Reaseheath, Nantwich). Currently the NBN Atlas map only shows records for Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Wight.